The Fight to Survive
by Mrs.Dauntless
Summary: Anastasia King is a woman surviving the sudden apocalypse that chaotically demolishes the world that she has know for the first 24 years of her young life. Through making and breaking bonds with celestial beings with power, Ana learns a few things about herself and the environment around her, with magical help from several sources that have plans for the human race.


**A/N:** Hey " _Darksiders"_ fandom. This is my first ever, real story that I have ever published on this site, and I hope that all of you enjoy and find pleasure in reading my work. If any of you fellow readers have ideas or comments on the story, please feel free to PM (private message) me. Thank you for your time!  
 **Disclaimer:** I do not own " _Darksiders_ ", or take credit for the work applied to both games. I do however own the _**OC Anastasia King**_. (If any of you have a character that resembles my OC, I do not claim any intended resemblance and/or ownership. Similarities are purely coincidental).

* * *

I ran. Breath falling faster from my lungs with each heaving step, the gravity of each foot fall causing my lungs to gasp out in a desperate call to the air that gave me the energy to run. I had to keep running, I couldn't stop, not in a million years. I lunged forward, smashing through branches and yellowing leaves to the deeper depths of the forest, the cunning rocks that hid underneath wet leaves and decaying life reminding me of the danger that running could cause if I didn't pay attention. My heart hammers in my chest, so hard in fact that I could feel it pulse strongly in my throat. I pushed on, bearing my will to my body.

My legs drove themselves forward with sweet numbness, allowing me to push that pain into a corner within the back of my mind. I felt sorry for my lungs, as they felt like they would shrivel and die in a matter of seconds from all of my hard breathing. Despite my situation, where I am running for my life, I felt quite impressed with myself for still being alive. The world around me, was changing very quickly due to the sudden appearance of celestial beings from the sky that came crashing to earth, fighting and battling with one another on a massive scale. Humans fled to wherever they could, myself being one of them. One of those…beings, came across my family, slaughtering them like wheat, causing me to run out of desperation and despair. I couldn't hear them behind me, due to the adrenaline that was hammering through the blood that was rushing in my ears, but I knew that they weren't very far behind.

The sudden scent of fire and smoke infiltrated my nostrils, the sharp smell strong enough to settle on my tongue like oil on water. I coughed as I leaped over a rotting log, the smoke irritating my lungs enough to cause me to become unfocused, and trip on a hidden rock, and disrupt my flow of movement. I gasped as I felt my body sweep low to the ground, but not enough to actually fall. I groaned as I started up my run again, the ache weighing down on my body less than easily.

Footsteps rumbled behind me in a rhythmic sequence, each one advancing in a threateningly rapid succession. I began to panic, fearing for the pending death toll if I couldn't find a place to hide. I looked up, noticing the rocketing height of the evergreens around me. Quickly, I made the executive decision to climb and eventually escape. I confidently leapt up onto a low hanging branch, scrambling up the tree. I continued to climb, navigating my way through thick, tight branches, and away from open areas that would expose me to my threat. As soon as the frightening closeness to the ground was out of my sight, for the first time in a long while...I just stopped.

I stopped moving, and took a breath. I focused on calm breaths for now, for I realized just how scared and nervous I was. If I didn't calm down, my nerves would cause me to do something very stupid in the future, which would greatly affect my chances of survival. Of course, I wanted to live. Things were alarmingly silent again, like the world forgot that an apocalypse was occurring. I hastily looked around, subconsciously remembering to breathe. Those footfalls were distant, like they bolted off in another direction in spite of the rather long chase that would (or could have) lead to the ultimate defeat of one or the other. The bellow that occurred afterward left my heart hammering in my throat again, the clarity of the sound purely frightening.

I remained in the tree for about 10 minutes, fully catching the much needed rest from that run, almost relieved that the soreness came back to my muscles. I then took out a pencil and the small notebook that I carried with me in my coat and wrote down a few key things to remember: My name is Anastasia King, and I am a woman surviving the apocalypse alone. I shakily sighed as I put it away, closing my eyes to really think over the possibility of starting to move again. I didn't want to be in the situation where I'm running for my life any time soon, but, on the other hand I must keep moving to the next town 45 km away. Not a bad distance, since I've walked longer distances before. The time read 8:50 p.m, so I had to make a choice really soon. Stay or go. I could reach that town in about 9-10 hours at a leisurely speed.

I decided to stay for the night, camping out in the tree away from predators that'll lurk on the ground while everything else slept. I watched as the sun dipped just below the tree canopy, the leaves silhouetted in the brilliant amber rays that shone right through them and towards me. I brushed the long crimson hair out of my face, my own amber eyes trying to focus on the surroundings around me before I tried to bunker down for the night. City lights were in the distance, a reminder of the home that I had run from just recently, though it seemed to drastically darken to the point of impregnable darkness that blended naturally in the curtain of night that fell. If I squinted, the telltale signs of a road could be seen, though I wasn't too sure about travelling that way, since the traffic and probability of getting killed was likely to be increased due to the human activity there.

I was grateful for the warm set of clothing that I owned, for tonight had become awfully chilly. The wind whispered daunting secrets through the wind, picking up in gusting breezes. I pulled up the fur-lined jacket's complimentary fur-lined hood, slipped on a matching set of premium wolf-fur gloves, and tried to sleep. It was harder to stay asleep through this time of day, especially when the surface one is sleeping on is hard, and swaying with each breeze. I endured indeed, and braved through my first night of the apocalypse.

Waking up was even harder than falling asleep. My warm suit was quite resilient against the cold, and for that I was thoroughly impressed, for the padding too allowed me to sleep better than I anticipated. My mother definitely knew how to buy necessities for the wild, that's for sure. I rubbed my eyes, the material of my gloves smooth and velvety across the sensitive skin. When I opened my eyes again, I was surprised to see that my environment had changed from yesterday. Many areas of the wildlife that had been around me, was demolished and crisped away into ash. The damage wasn't what surprised me however. How was I able to sleep through the entirety of this event last night? How tired was I to not hear, smell, or feel the absolute power of a fire last night?

I was perturbed from this, and I couldn't help but feel as though something in me was terribly corrupted. What could have been missing to feel no sympathy for those who may have been killed last night, or anger for the ones who caused it? I rose from my resting place into a crouched position, swallowing my slight nerve of heights. I carefully navigated my way back down, using a tactful approach too skillfully and safely reach the bottom of the tree. Once I was at the trunk, I shuddered at the chill that the morning had brought. Oh, pardon me, the afternoon brought. Christ I must've been dead tired from that run to sleep for that long.

The day was silent as I began to walk in the direction of the nearest city, which to my understanding was 3 miles away. I didn't have a car, or any means of travel besides my own two feet and heartbeat. Ah, the shoelace express, a refined means of travel indeed. Aching feet, but the view along the way is nice…other than the obvious images of the apocalypse of course. Burned and burning wildlife all around me with the invasive smell of pending death – ah, gotta love this new life (obvious sarcasm is obvious). Once I started moving again my hunger spiked. I hadn't eaten yesterday, and the only meal I had before I started running was a sandwich at Sub Way (a really nice sub actually, turkey on honey and oat bread). Oh damn it, now that thought has my stomach groaning in distress.

My body was okay for the most part after that run. I really felt sore now, my legs screaming at me with pain but that was okay, since I am alive. My walk was quiet as I mentioned, but this atmosphere gave me time to reflect and just enjoy the serenity that was here before the storm came, if one understands what I mean. I didn't have a map on me, but from the knowledge that I had on this route, I made some essential progress. Travelling from a small town to another small town didn't take too long when it was in Canada, since earlier governments wanted immigrants and Canadian citizens to settle in the vast land mass in the north. Soon, on my trek, I came across a pond, a frosted over pond, but one with an abundance of fish. From what I could tell, perch schools swam about, almost un-phased by the ever present disaster the world faced. Thank god that I learned how to fish with my father when I was a child, else I'd be S.O.L right about now.

I found a stick that was among many on the forest floor, and broke of twigs and larger branches to roughly file my new hunting spear to a rather decent point. I grunted softly as knelt, the soreness catching me again, gathering sticks and branches that laid about on the ground to build a fire. Finding larger stones proved to become a bit of a hassle, considering that these leaves covered virtually everything. I set up my "kitchen" area as well, to clean out the fish, cook it, and eat. I picked up my stick, and shuffled over to the pond, getting ready to hunt and fulfill my hunger. I never liked fish much while growing up, but in this circumstance it was a very appealing meal. In a matter of 5 attempts and many curses later, I successfully caught 6 perch, a nice sized meal to last me for a while.

A pocket knife is one's bests' friend whilst out in the wild, and I was glad that the convenience of a camping trip in autumn was at my luck. My knife, a classic red Swiss army pocket knife, came in handy as I prepared my meal. Once I attempted to clean out my perch, I felt a small twang of guilt for killing something for my survival. Up until now, I never really put in much thought to the word "survival". Life had been great for me: a middle classed family that loved me and was active in the world, a good school with friends, a wonderful home, pets, and the promise of entry into college. Means of food, shelter and the other necessities to living fully were never a problem. Now I must indeed survive, by any way I can.

Once I finished my meal I took a bit of a water break, calculating the water and its quality with many temptations to wait until I come across another body of water. I took a chance and drank some, hoping to god that I'd be alright. I cleaned my area, and started up my trek to the next town over, also hoping that there were people that lived and survived in that town. Right about now, someone to connect with during this drastic and shocking change of life would be pretty comforting.

* * *

I knew that winter was approaching, since the month was now early November, the month where my family would traditionally go out on the lake, and spend a weekend enjoying the fall weather with each other. I would say that it's quite stereotypical of me to enjoy the cold since I am a Canadian in the north, but without any real warmth of company the season to me seems to become colder and lifeless. I know I sound bitter, but can one blame me? My family died and the world has been victimized to an apocalypse.

I move forward with my trek, the soreness in my legs in full effect with each step. I could feel the creak in my bones, the moan of agony reverberating through me. In turn I too moaned in agony, but knew better than to curse myself for staying alive. Actually, better yet, maybe if I died I wouldn't have to deal with this kind of new life anymore. I mean, I just started this lonesome lifestyle, but God it already sucks. Nah who am I kidding, I better not give myself any ideas.

"Quite right indeed, human. That would spoil my plans if you did." A full, and rasped voice whispered right in my ear, almost scaring me out of my skin. I gasped as I jolted backward frightfully away from the source of that sound, my hand clasping around the metal of my pocket knife instinctively. I drew the small blade out of its casing, sculpting myself into a defensive pose. I had no real training in the defensive arts, but from what I understood I needed to at least try and protect myself. The voice came back, darting around my range of hearing quickly and confusingly, weaving masterfully close and away from me, laughing with that awful smoker's kind of laugh. When it died to a soft chortle, I became rather nauseated when it was at last in a comfortably hearing range. All that movement was disorientating. I must flee before I get hurt.

"You just…you read my thoughts?" I mumbled, analyzing that action with an incredulously. The voice chuckled, drawing close to me yet no body was present. "Yes, and I must say, for a human you are quite clever. Your mind will be absolutely satisfying when I devour it." I felt my blood freeze in my body, my breath catching in my throat. Oh God, this is a very bad situation. No violence, and yet I can feel my chances of surviving depleting. I felt cold sweat form at my temples, but I pushed that nerve away and bit my lower lip, forcing myself to focus on the task at hand.

"It's pretty cowardly of you to not directly speak to your opponent – not that you should be afraid anyways. A smart creature like you knows the odds of this battle already." I stated, attempting at a wise perspective of the situation with a bit of a snarky attitude, and to my favor it worked. The invisible being indeed became visible, standing with extreme pride by a whip thin spruce tree, their chin high in the air with their mischievous yet intelligent eyes a beady pale white as they glared at me through the random trees that filled the distance from me to them. The being was a pale and rather ghastly shade of blue, bald and carried no weapons. The simple yet elaborately designed robe of silver and teal enveloped their body, but I could spy the long and threateningly sharp silver encased claws that could do some serious damage, and easily cut through bone to get the 10 lbs. jelly inside a skull. I was about 10 feet away from them, a healthy distance I guessed, considering that this was my enemy.

"Now that you've seen me, mortal," The being paused, gesturing to themselves with their incredibly long and nimble thin fingers, the skin so translucent that I could see the bone and veins stretch and contract with each movement. "You now see where you stand in this predicament. You will die today, cunning human, and I will enjoy every morsel of that brain of yours." The being rasped delightfully, those non-prominent lips curling triumphantly into a wicked smile to reveal a set of glistening, sharp teeth, a curvaceous and rather feminine humanoid leg stretching forward to advance towards me. I began to try and use my cleverness to get out of this situation. This intelligent being seems to enjoy playing with their food before devouring it, as I observed from the reaction to my earlier statement of understanding my place in the would-be battle. I thought fast, and bowed low. From the pause of their advance, I successfully caught their attention.

"Be wise oh intelligent one, for I may prove of use to you." I said in my most convincing voice, smiling at them knowingly. This definitely ensnared them in my proposal, for they advanced towards me with a curious countenance, those pale eyes glaring at me with confusion. "Use to me? What could a mere mortal do, for a being as myself? Be careful mortal, for I can read the lies in your mind." They said in all too dangerous tone, arching their non-existent brow with the shadow of a smirk on their lips. I swallowed and bowed my head, my long crimson hair falling in front of my face. "I live in a world such as this, where a means of mortal life is unfamiliar to you. One such as yourself, may have difficulty traversing in the mortal world, even with your intelligence. This is where I come to be of use. I devote myself to your needs, should you have me."

I had a feeling that this being was interested, for there was a shift in the aura that emanated from them. I was being honest for the most part, training my thoughts hard on every word. I must be convincing if I want to live. This curious light turned to definite understanding of the situation, which had successfully opened the door to surviving a while longer. The being hummed, a whispering sound, so soft I barely hear it. I stayed in my bow until they approached, commanding me to rise. I did as I was told, standing efficiently whilst gazing intently into their eyes. "You will address me as Master, understand mortal?" Master commanded, their index finger teasing underneath the soft flesh of my jaw, causing me to look up even more than I had to. I quickly replied with an even "Yes, Master," which by then my flesh was released. A smirk curled on their lips. "Good. Now that this deed has been established, we must venture closer to the mortal establishments and conquer one, to build a fortress. Where might the next human group be?"

I pointed in the direction that I had been walking, looking at the pale blue being once more. "In this direction, Master, is a town in a 45 km range. It should take about 9-10 to reach there." I replied, averting my eyes in my false servitude to them. For as far as I understood, I could not verify the gender on this being, for they had both masculine and feminine properties. "To satisfy your curiosity of me, I am a male." Their voice suddenly chimed, the rasp soft in my ear, yet their body was not near me, or well, anywhere. They had disappeared from my sight. "How will I know that you're still within my presence, Master?" I asked, beginning to walk again, whilst putting away my knife. His voice chortled. "You will know, with this brand I put indelibly upon you."

A sudden sharp pain struck the back of my neck, causing me to fall to my knees in mid step, gripping the fabric of my jacket harshly. I grunted as the pain subsided as quickly as it came, a cool feeling washing over the affected area. I moved my crimson hair out of the way, gingerly brushing my fingers across the rough, burned skin. I whimpered a little as the pain coursed through my throat, my eyes watering from the prickling pain. "When I am near, the brand will create heat. Through this, you are bound to me, and I can read your every thought directly without using my magic. By me shall it be done, and undone. And this way," Master paused, a menace in his voice. "I can punish you as I see fit." I winced as a searing heat ran right down my back, almost like a lash from a red hot whip struck me.

I cried out in pain, but gripped my jacket once more to distract my need to fight right back. I took the most controlled breath in my entire life, and rose into a standing position, my shoulders squared back. "Yes, Master." I breathed, beginning to walk once more towards the town of civilization once again.


End file.
